2017 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix, Saturday

Renault Sport Formula One Team’s Nico Hülkenberg progressed into Q3 and will start tenth on the grid for the 2017 Grand Prix du Canada. After setting the sixth fastest time in the morning FP3 session, Nico made a return to Q3 with his 1min 13.271secs lap time. Jolyon Palmer progressed into Q2 and qualified fifteenth for tomorrow’s race.

Nico Hülkenberg, #27, R.S.17-02, Q: P10 1:13.271 FP3: P6 1:13.493
“I am quite pleased with P10, I think this is as good as it could get for us this afternoon. Yesterday it looked like we had quite a bit of work to do, then this morning looked much better. Now we have to put our heads down, push hard and work for some points tomorrow.”

Jolyon Palmer, #30, R.S.17-03, Q: P15 1:14.293 FP3: P15 1:14.102
“I had a tidy lap, which I was happy with in Q1 and the car felt good. For some reason in Q2 I wasn’t able to find enough grip or get the tyres turned on and I ended up with a slower lap. I’m pleased to be back in Q2, but disappointed not to be further up the order. We know the tyres are pretty sensitive so we just have to get on with it in the race. This is a track where you can overtake and you often see safety cars so hopefully things go our way tomorrow.”

Alan Permane, Sporting Director:It’s good to qualify back in the top ten…

How was qualifying for the team?
It was good to see Nico back in Q3 in a very close qualifying session where a few tenths quicker would have seen number of places further forward on the grid. Jolyon wasn’t able to match Nico’s pace so he will have more work to do in the race.

What are the considerations for tomorrow’s race?
We were happy with the long run pace and tyre usage we saw in yesterday’s assessments. The two main tyre compounds have behaved as expected, so we’re not anticipating any surprises in terms of tyre strategy in the race. Circuit Gilles Villeneuve can put a car through its paces in terms of demands on the power unit and brakes, but we’re confident our package will deliver as required. The target tomorrow is to move both cars up the order and for Jolyon to score his first points of the season.